


Safe Harbor

by romeoandjulietyouwish



Series: Lis Writes 9-1-1 [36]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Big Brother Judd Ryder, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Men Crying, why are there no lone star tags...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:28:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25668943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romeoandjulietyouwish/pseuds/romeoandjulietyouwish
Summary: Mateo shows up on the Ryder's doorstep in the pouring rain.Characters of color appreciation week day 2: Lone star favorite main character of color
Relationships: Grace Ryder/Judd Ryder (9-1-1 Lone Star), Mateo Chavez & Judd Ryder
Series: Lis Writes 9-1-1 [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725208
Comments: 8
Kudos: 123





	Safe Harbor

**Author's Note:**

> TW: referenced use of the r word

Grace and Judd are softly conversing over dinner, catching each other up on their day and their plans for the weekend coming up. To Grace it feels like forever since they’ve both been able to sit down and have dinner together. Their quiet night in is shortly interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

Grace pats Judd’s hand as she stands, “I got it.” 

When she opens the door she sees Mateo standing in the doorway. The young man is shivering as the rain pummels down on him, his teeth chatter. She frowns, she’s met her husband’s coworkers on several occasions but she has no clue why Mateo would show up at their door at night in the pouring rain. But Grace is not one to leave someone on her porch so she quickly steps aside and ushers him in. He stands on the doormat, shivering and dripping water. 

“I’ll go get you a towel, honey,” Grace pats his shoulder and walks briskly to the hall closet.

“Who’s here, Gracie?” Judd calls from the dining room. 

“Mateo,” she tells him as she walks back to the doorway with a towel in arms. She smiles gently at him as she wraps the towel around his shoulders, “Does that feel better?” 

He nods, “Thanks, Mrs. Ryder.”

She waves him off, “Call me Grace. Any friend of Judd’s is a friend of mine.” 

Speaking of the devil, Judd walks into the hall, his frown deepening with concern when he sees Mateo, “Mateo, what are you doing here?” 

He wraps the blanket closer around himself and looks down at his feet, “I-I didn’t know where to go.” 

“Yeah you did,” Judd says, squeezing his shoulder. “Right here. Come on in, we’re eating dinner. Grace always cooks for four instead of two.” 

“That’s cause you eat like three people,” Grace laughs. Mateo smiles slightly at the banter.

“Only because your cooking is so good,” Judd wraps an arm around her waist and kisses her cheek. Grace and Judd lead Mateo into the dining room, Grace fixing him a plate while Judd fetches a pile of warm clothes from the closet. 

Grace smiles kindly at Mateo as he starts nibbling on the plate in front of him, “My mama told me that there’s nothing a good meal can’t fix. I never believed her even when I was little, a good meal can’t solve all the problems of the world, but it can help bring people together and make people feel warmer and safer.” 

“That’s pretty smart.” 

“Why thank you,” Grace smiles. “I’d like to think so.” The three of them eat for a little while longer in silence before Grace says, “Listen, we’re not going to make you tell us why you’re here, anyone from the 126 is welcome here any time of day, no questions asked. But I want you to know that if you do want to talk about anything, Judd and I are both very good listeners.”

Mateo looks at Judd, “How’d you fool her into thinking you’re a good listener?” 

Judd rolls his eyes, “Okay, Chavez.” Grace chuckles as she sips her wine. She wasn’t sure about the new 126 at first, but now she couldn’t be more sure. Her husband has found a family in them, something Grace was worried he’d never have again. But here’s Mateo teasing him like a little brother and she’s witnessed him act the same way with all of the others. It’s a shame that Judd’s the youngest of his siblings, he would have been a fantastic older brother.

Once all of the dishes are in the dishwasher, Grace shows Mateo to the bathroom, “Here, get changed, take a hot shower if you need one.” 

“Thank you, Grace,” Mateo says. 

“Of course, honey.” 

She smiles at him and once the door is closed behind him, she meets Judd in the living room. “You’re really worried about him,” she says as she sinks onto the couch beside him. 

Judd sighs, “Yeah. He’s...not fragile, just more sensitive than the rest of the team. He keeps to himself a lot so I’m-I’m concerned about what could have happened.” 

Grace scratches gently at the nape of Judd’s neck, “Just don’t push okay? If he wants to talk about it, listen, but don’t push.” 

“Gracie,” Judd looks at his wife, “when have you ever known me to voluntarily talk about feelings?” 

Grace laughs lightly and leans into his shoulder. She catches movement out of the corner of her eye and sees Mateo walk into the living room, nearly drowning in one of Judd’s t-shirts and sweatpants. “Come sit down, sweetie,” Grace smiles at him and pushes Judd’s shoulder to get him to move down and make room for him. 

He sits down hesitantly and looks at his feet, “I don’t really want to talk about it.” 

“That’s okay,” Judd assures him. “We can just watch some tv and then we’ll make up the guest room-”

“You don’t have to do that,” Mateo interjects. “I can catch a cab home.” 

“Nonsense,” Grace shakes her head. “You’re going to stay the night and let me make you a big breakfast, okay?” 

“It’s best not to cross her,” Judd advises. 

Mateo nods wisely and softly thanks them both again. The three of them settle back against the couch and Judd clicks on the tv. Grace keeps an eye out for Mateo out of the corner of her eye and she knows that Judd is doing the same. Mateo sits with his knees curled up to his chest. Eventually, during one of the commercials, Mateo gently clears his throat and Judd mutes the tv. 

Mateo shifts, “Um, my dad called me. He hasn’t talked to me since I moved out, but he saw me on the news at that call yesterday. He-” Mateo takes a long breath. “He only called me to tell me that he’s never going to be proud of me and that I’ll always be dumb and ret-”

“Don’t say that,” Grace cuts in before Mateo can repeat the awful word his father called him. 

Mateo shakes his head, “I hung up on him and I started running to clear my head and then it started raining and I was miles away from my apartment and I know that you guys were close so I came here.” 

Grace squeezes his knee, “I’m glad you came here, Mateo. You’re family, we’ll always be here if you need us.”

“Thank you, guys.” Mateo smiles at them and lets Grace and Judd pull him into a quick embrace.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! 
> 
> Tumblr- @evanbuckley-heartofgold


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